Fisticuffs Between Bureaucracy & Politicians Aren’t New

A video circulating on social media, where Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Punjab for Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan slammed Assistant Commissioner (AC) Sialkot Sonia Sadaf in front of locals over the sale of substandard fruits in Ramazan Bazaar on Sunday.

The purpose of setting up the Ramazan bazaar in Sialkot was to assist people to purchase fruits and vegetables at affordable prices.

But Firdous Ashiq Awan, during her surprise visit, found out that instead of fresh and good quality, substandard items were being sold.

Seeing the sale of rotten fruits to people, Firdous Ashiq Awan chastised AC Sonia Sadaf and confirmed to highlight the matter to the Punjab Chief Minister.

Replying to Firdous, Assistant Commissioner requested the government official to talk politely and later left Ramzan Bazaar after her plea was ignored.

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Following the incident, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz asked Firdous Ashiq Awan to tender an apology to the AC as being a minister didn’t get her the license to insult officials.

سول سرونٹس اور بیوروکریٹس پڑھ لکھ کر، محنت کر کے، مقابلے کے امتحان پاس کر کے اس مقام تک پہنچتے ہیں، SELECT ہو کر نہیں آتے۔ وزیر ہونے کا مطلب یہ نہیں ہے کہ آپ کو افسران کی تذلیل کا لائسنس مل گیا ہے۔ یہ رعونت قابل قبول نہیں۔ سونیا صدف سے معافی مانگیے

— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) May 2, 2021

Moreover, Special Assistant to PM Shahbaz Gill shared a photo collage in response to Maryam Nawaz’s tweet.

One side of the photo showed a female police officer helping out Maryam Nawaz.

Whereas, the second photo showed a police officer bowed down before ex-Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

سرکاری افسران آپکے زاتی ملازم نہیں: مریم نواز ٹویٹ pic.twitter.com/t3fxUlRli1

— Dr. Shahbaz GiLL (@SHABAZGIL) May 2, 2021

A Twitter user shared a video of PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah threatening Punjab Chief Secretary.

Couple of days ago Rana sanaullah threatened chief secretary Punjab did bureaucrats give same response then?#افسر_شاہی_عوام_کو_جوابدہ pic.twitter.com/ef2aNGWZaz

— Mohsin Solangi (@SehwaniMohsin) May 2, 2021

Later, Punjab Chief Secretary Jawad Rafique Malik condemned the incident in Sialkot.

He said, “Assistant Commissioner Sonia Sadaf and other administrative officers are on the frontline despite the scorching heat and the coronavirus outbreak”.

Applauding the tireless work of administrative officers across Punjab, Malik said that humiliating a government official was not fair.

Interestingly, the hostile relationship between bureaucrats and politicians is not only common in Pakistan but this has been a practice in the neighboring India too.

Earlier, a similar video of New Delhi Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal had caught attention on social media as a video showed him expressing anger at an officer for failing to do the assigned task.

@Dr_FirdousPTI فردوس آپا نےصرف لفظ بے غیرت کہہ کر کام خراب کردیا ورنہ بطور عوامی لیڈر ٹیکسوں سے بھاری تنخواہیں لینے والے افسران سے کام لینا اور انھیں کھینچ کر رکھنا منتخب نمائندوں کا فرض ہے ۔۔ دیکھئےخراب کارکردگی پر دہلی کے سی ایم کس طرح اپنی ٹیم سے باز پرس کرتے ہیں pic.twitter.com/hf5HgboRRE

— Ahsan Sabz (@ahsansap7) May 2, 2021